Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception and Performance
Question: Describe about the Journal of Experimental Psychology for Human Perception and Performance. Answer: 1: H1: Procrastination of attention is not correlated and has different mean values This statistics is dedicated towards analysing the correlation between procrastination and attention in terms of stroop interference. Stroop interference can be explained as the delay in identifying a sense if it is written in unconventional manner, which, in turn, indicates the extent, and more precisely, lack of attention towards the issue, rather than inattention (Bugg Hutchison, 2013). Such distinction between these two senses of attention is significant and more logical in analysing correlation between procrastination and attention. According to the Pearsons correlation value, there is no correlation between attention and procrastination in positive direction indicating an inverse proportional relation between these two parameters. This indicates that if attention decreases or stroop interference increases, then for an individual, it is more likely to procrastinate, identifying a negative correlationship between these two variables in incongruent trials. One tailed significance value of 0.445 indicates that there is considerably less similarity between the mean values, again indicating lack of positive correlation between procrastination of attention. Hence, it can be concluded that statistics is approving the test hypothesis (H1), meaning with changes in attention in terms of stroop interference, there is no change in procrastination in positive direction. However, the relationship is in negative direction. This result indicates that procrastination and attention are not directly interconnected to each other, in practice. Theoretically, this means, to a very less extent, an individual, paying more attention to an issue, will procrastinate less or might not postpone works than an individual with lesser extent of attention. 2: H1: Procrastination is not related to working memory. Statistical inference to test the formulated hypothesis indicates that there are comparatively higher correlation between working memory and procrastination. Pearsons correlation is comparatively higher indicating a relationship between the two variables. However, these variables move in their opposite direction that results negligence of these two factors. This indicates that if working memory increases, then procrastination decreases, or in other terms, individual with high working memory tend to procrastinate less (Meier Kane, 2013). Hence, from the analysis, it can be concluded that, if working memory, the short-term high speed memory required for prioritising and performing an immediate work increases, and then procrastinate tends to decrease, identifying a negative correlation between these two parameters. Dynamic condition of memory never leaves it in a relaxed mode during high requirement of emergency activity. Hence, it omits procrastination from the current condition and lets the work to be done in a quick and successful manner. Further, as per statistical viewpoint, 1 tailed significance value have also been found to be comparatively less indicating a comparable mean values of these two parameters, namely, working memory through OSPAN and procrastination. Not only an emergency task enhances memory function, but also continuous operation of a series of task develops the capacity of working memory. Therefore, it can be concluded that test hypothesis is true and there is negative correlation between working memory and procrastination. Apparently, there is less extent of correlation, which is practically non-significant; however, in terms of theory and statistics, if an individual can accommodate more working memory, then that individual will not procrastinate nor postpone or delay. On the other hand, if working memory is less, the person might have more tendency of delaying a work or will intentionally postpone it. Thus, it can be concluded that the correlation between working memory and procrastination work following the inversely proportional method. Reference list: Bugg, J. M., Hutchison, K. A. (2013), Converging evidence for control of colourword Stroop interference at the item level, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 39(2), 433 Meier, M. E., Kane, M. J. (2013), Working memory capacity and Stroop interference: Global versus local indices of executive control, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 39(3), 748
Sunday, April 5, 2020
2013 Hurricane Names
2013 Hurricane Names 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 Below you will find the listing of hurricane names for the Atlantic Ocean for the year 2013. For every year, there is a pre-approved list of tropical storm and hurricane names. These lists have been generated by the National Hurricane Center since 1953. At first, the lists consisted of only female names; however, since 1979, the lists alternate between male and female. Hurricanes are named alphabetically from the list in chronological order. Thus the first tropical storm or hurricane of the year has a name that begins with A and the second is given the name that begins with B. The lists contain hurricane names that begin from A to W, but exclude names that begin with a Q or U. There are six lists that continue to rotate. The lists only change when there is a hurricane that is so devastating, the name is retired and another hurricane name replaces it. The 2013 hurricane name list is the same as the 2007 hurricane name list with the exception of three names that were devastating hurricanes in 2007 and thus retired. Dean was replaced by Dorian, Felix was replaced by Fernand, and Noel was replaced by Nestor. 2013 Hurricane Names AndreaBarryChantalDorianErinFernandGabrielleHumbertoIngridJerryKarenLorenzoMelissaNestorOlgaPabloRebekahSebastienTanyaVanWendy
Sunday, March 8, 2020
Grow up near a fire station, the excitement that arose....
Grow up near a fire station, the excitement that arose.... Growing up near a fire station, the excitement that arose from the building always peaked my curiosity of what went on within its walls. This interest soon turned into a dream. I wanted to be firefighter when I grew up. As a kid, I remember running after fire trucks every time I heard the distinctive sound of their roaring sirens. I was mesmerized by firefighters and tried to watch as many firefighter related movies as possible. Not only did they just save other peoples' lives, they risked their own lives fighting the blazing infernos. I saw firefighters heroically twirl down the fire poll and decided that I would start my firefighting career in the playground by practicing sliding down the poll as well. However, as I began to get older, I saw that my idealistic vision of being a heroic firefighter wasn't reality! Although disappointed, I still held onto my dream of becoming a firefighter one day.Firefighters CompetitionUnexpectantly, the chance of fulfilling my childhood dream came without notice. The day started just like any ordinary day. Waking up at 8 o'clock, I remembered it was the first day back to school from the long winter break and I hurried as I got ready to go to the school. As usual, school went forth as usual with no disturbance all through first, second, and third period. However, during our fourth period, we were in for a surprise. No one could have imagined what was to happen next. It all started suddenly with a siren that was so loud I couldn't hear myself screaming. As my teacher tried to calm the class down by saying that it may be a fire drill, we started to see the lack of truth in her words as we saw black smoke swallowing the...
Friday, February 21, 2020
LAW OF EUROPEAN UNION. Discuss, with references to relevant EC Treaty Essay
LAW OF EUROPEAN UNION. Discuss, with references to relevant EC Treaty provisions and decided cases, whether or not a reference should be made in this case, and - Essay Example Article 234 of the EC Treaty provides a mechanism by which citiziens and bodies within the European Community may obtain clarification of Community law. In a typical case a question is referred to the European Court of Justice and the general puropose of Article 234 is to ensure that all laws within the European Community equally reflect Community law. In general Article 234 provides that the European Court of Justice will have the authority to ââ¬Å"give preliminary rulingsâ⬠1 with respect to: Article 234 goes on to provide that when ââ¬Å"such a question is raised before any court of tribunal of a Member State,â⬠3that court or tribunal may if it deems it necessary for the purpose of ruling in the matter before it, ââ¬Å"requestâ⬠a ruling from the ECJ.4 Moreover: ââ¬Å"Where any such question is raised in a case pending before a court or tribunal of a Member State against whose decisions there is no judicial remedy under national law, that court or tribunal shall bring the matter before the Court of Justice.5 The result of Article 234 is the development and application of Community law. Principlay Article 234, the ECJ by deciding cases by way of references it rules on points of law and does not sit as an appellate court. In Foglia v Novella [1980) ECR 745 the ECJ ruled that it would only determine references arising out of genuine disputes and refused to accept a reference where a clause was inserted into a contract solely for the purpose of creating a legal challenge.6 In the case of Melicke v ADV/ORGA AG [1992] ECR I-4871 the ECJ refused a refence because it lacked specificity in the sense that the court was required to rule on a hypotheical bases. The ECJ ruled that it could not decide on the disputer because it did not have: The first issue for Jane is whether or not the Social Service Adjudicator presiding over Janeââ¬â¢s complaint is a proper body under
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Introduction to Psychology. forums Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Introduction to Psychology. forums - Essay Example On the other hand behaviours usually occur consciously and it is possible for us to change our behaviour if we make a conscious effort. Dr Vasily Klucharev, from the FC Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging in the Netherlands has said that people often change their decisions and judgments to conform with normative group behavior (Alleyne). Psychology is interested in both behavioural studies and mental activities since both have close relationships. Psychology is the study of human mind and behaviour. Behaviour is the outcome of mental processes which means the study of psychology might not be completed without the study of behaviour and mental processes. For example, suppose a person shows some abnormalities in his behaviour. A psychiatrist or psychologist cannot treat him without knowing his mental processes. In order to know his mental processes, a psychiatrist or psychologist normally makes a free association with the patient. In short, behaviour and mental processes, both are important to psychology. Neurotransmitters are some kind of chemicals which is responsible for the amplification and modulation of signals between a neuron and another cell. Purse (2010) has mentioned that when a message or signal comes in at one end of a nerve cell, an electrical impulse travels down the "tail" of the cell (axon), and causes the release of the appropriate neurotransmitter and subsequently, molecules of the neurotransmitter are sent into the tiny space between nerve cells, called the synaptic cleft (Purse). Proper transmission of messages across the body is important for the smooth functioning of body parts. Neurotransmitters are responsible for ensuring the correct transmission of messages from the brain to other parts of the body. Neurotransmitters are responsible for the control of mood, sleep regulation, body temperature, blood pressure, hormonal activities etc. The brain
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Treating Foxconn Workers As Machines
Treating Foxconn Workers As Machines Foxconn Technology Group is a multinational anchor company of Hon Hai Precision Industry CompanyLtd., a Taiwanese company that is the worlds largest leading of electronic manufacturer. Foxconn is the largest exporter in China which has a workforce of 90,000 workers all over China. Its well-known clients include Apple, Dell, Nokia, and Microsoft and so on, which take comparative advantages of labour cost and production resulting in profit maximisation (BBC, 2011). For satisfying rapid and huge demand on IPad, Foxconn has promised Apple Company to boost the productivity to fulfil their orders. Unfortunately, Foxconn did not be concerned on the employees of job stress due to intensive manufacturing process. According a report from Student and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) (2010), it stated that 14 frontline workers died from suicides between January and August 2010, due to excessive working quantity and depressed emotion. It reflected that the boosting productive manag ement would lead the workers as dehumanized machines and the deterioration of dignity and well-being. In respond to the tragedy incidents, then the CEO Terry Gou Tai Ming advised that the workers signed the commitment of all kinds of suicides disregarding as the companys responsibility. He also attributed the suicides to personal problems, such as bad socialisation and finical debts, in order to obtain the grant amount of compensation offered by the company. Although the company initiated the action for the recovery of job satisfaction, the harsh management methodology was eventually not changed to contribute to job stress and burnout. For instance, the action invited counsellors to the factory, negotiated to make higher wage, established the hotline and Employee Care Centre, held an anti-suicide assembly and organised the activities for inspiration, but it is useless for reduce in job stress. Despite to carry out the emergency decision-making, there is a close relationship between poor wage and accommodation, harsh management and lack of health and safety protection (Chamberlain, 2011). First, the raised wage was slightly increased CNY 100 compared to the minimum wage (CNY 1250 per month) set by local government. This improvement is insufficient for living condition especially in Shenzhen where the monthly living wage should be CNY 2293 (Students Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour, 2010). In addition, each crowded dormitory can accommodate 24 workers and observer was told by a worker who was forced to sign confession letter after illicitly using a hairdryer (AM 730, 2011). Second, excessive and involuntary overtime is an apparently serious problem led to job stress and burnout. The report of SACOM (2010) revealed that workers had to work 10 hours and 6 days per week which means overtime adding up to 84 hours during the midst of series of suicides. The premium should generally be 1.5 or 2 times weekend hourly wage conformed to Labour Law, yet there is no bonus for overtime during weekend. Then, the frequent change of work shifts may be irregular that probably arrange the day and night shift in a day, are changed 2 to 3 times a month. The workers would not allow talking at work. Finally, the employer has responsibility to provide a safe work place and the effective protection and training the employees on occupational health by Occupational Disease Law of China. Unfortunately, 3 workers were diagnosed with leukaemia and 1 worker is anxious related to the harmful chemicals. Meanwhile, no personal protective equipment liked goggles and gloves would be provided when the workers operated a drill on his duty. The victims even need to pay medical fees themselves. An assistant of CEO explained to the criticism of anti-suicide commitment becoming over intensive and to the prohibition of talking during working in order to enhance the quality of productivity (The Liberty Times, 2011). Introduction While Economy becomes booming period, employer would make generous incomes by fulfil the demand. For example, the manufacturers would like to use existed production machines and a number of workforces in order to complete the orders and satisfy their clients. Responding to accomplishment of goals and targets, management may underestimate the front-line employees job difficulties and anxieties that results in turnover or potential negative outcome. This purpose is to analyse the threats of employees health and safety in Foxconn and to research the implication of leading organisation. Job stress and Burnout Job stress is defined as a relationship between employees mental or physical distress and working environment (Kahn Boysiere, 1994). Other definition may allow stress for improving performance that is the interaction of work conditions and employee personality with changing psychological functions (Beer Newman, 1978). However, the workers in Foxconn would not contribute to this improvement, the tragedies occurred under stress and harsh management instead. The main three stressors are job quality, relationship, and physical quality that yield to job burnout. Job burnout refers to a result of job stress that develops from the sustained situation that employees are unable to deal with the excessive demand resulting in physical, emotional and cognitive exhaustion (Hu Cheng, 2010). The degradation of job quality in Foxconn may compose of low wage and excessive work hours. The workers could not receive the compensation on overtime; even there is no internal (mental) or external (monetar y) reward. It would damage the job security and relationship between the employer and workers, then the company would be decreased the labour force due to the increasing resignation of workers. Another stressor is a lack of physical quality that results from irregular work hours and work-life imbalance. Consequently, the company should face the potential loss of revenue and take the responsibility of turnover. Emotional Labour Emotional labour plays a significant role in daily work life for employees and direct or indirectly influence to the company. For instance, the employees become emotional exhaustion and cognitive withdrawing from the job, and then finally resigned. Emotional labour is the regulation of emotion and emotional display at work that interact with customers, co-workers, and the public (Chau et al. 2009). The emotional labour consists of two categories are surface acting and deep acting. Surface acting refers as suppressing ones emotional and pretending to the desired emotional expression, while deep acting involves modifying actual ones feeling to show proper emotional display. Chau et al. stated that the surface acting would relate to the negative outcomes, such as turnover, or withdraw behaviour, due to emotional dissonance and internal exhaustion, whereas deep acting may reduce negative outcomes due to authentic and positive emotions. Acknowledge of deep acting for the employees perform s in Foxconn that can lead to decrease the emotional exhaustion and avoid the turnover intentions. Psychological Contract A psychological contract (PC) is considered as a mutual obligation that was established by both the employees and their employers regarding the terms and conditions of exchanging relationship (Kotter, 1973; Rousseau Tijoriwala, 1998). In other words, the expectations concern on what the employees owe their employers and on what their employers owe the employees in return (Ng Feldman, 2009). For example, the employers may provide the inducement, such as high pay or potential promotion, for the motivation to encourage the employees maximise effort. Nevertheless, the breach of psychological contract (BPC) could not reach the promise by either the employers or employees. Chen, Tsui and Zhong (2008) categorised into two types of BPC which are reneging and incongruence. Reneging occurs when employee breaks the promise, or the employer is unable to satisfy the promise. Incongruence occurs when the employee and employer have misunderstanding of the contract and promise. Obviously, the form er PBC is the Foxconn employers who violate the law and could not pay the overtime rate wage to compensate the employees effort. The excessive work quantity would be detrimental to their physical and psychological health that lead to depressive work condition and finally happened suicides. The latter BPC was analysed misunderstanding of the Foxconn employers driving the additional work hour into daily work quantity; on the other hands, employees would like to have a normal socialisation with certain work hour and well-being. Ironically, the employers made military management in order to achieve the productivity maximisation, but they neglected the employees job stress to seriously misunderstand that was the employees needs. The four methods can deal with BPC depending on age and work experience, because PC focuses on relatively young employees with relatively low work experience (Ng Feldman, 2009). The first method is exit that refers to voluntary withdraw behaviour. Flaherty and Pappas (2002) demonstrated that the older and more experienced workers have more likelihood to stability in their work live and less likelihood to intend to leave their employers. The second method is voice that the employees attempt to voice out to the employers yielding to improvement in work condition. On the other hand, it may increase the risk of retaliation from employers. Consequently, the younger and less work experienced employees should express their disappointment due to less malleable PC, while the older and more experienced employees should avoid using voice direct to employers in order not to decrease their job security. The third method is loyalty which involves silence or passion to negative work condition for remaining with an organisation. Generally, older and more experienced employees may have more flexible expectation to deal with interpersonal relationship problems. According the suicides at Foxconn in China record of SACOM (2010), the victims age range from 18 to 25 that belongs to young age or junior work age group. It implied the younger or less experienced employees that could not have appropriate expectation to overcome the difficulties. The last one is neglect in term of counterproductive behaviour that is lower involvement and greater workplace withdrawal. The older and more experienced employees would be less to engage in this method because of more malleability within the current firm and less replication in outside firm. In additional, other research showed that mentors and supervisors can support with BPC by providing career-related information and psychological support (Zagenczyk et al., 2009). The career-related support includes the provision as protection, visibility a nd sponsorship, while psychological support includes friendship, confirmation, acceptance and counselling. The supervisors would like to evaluate the performance as well as giving feedback to subordinates. Organisational Misbehaviour Organisational misbehaviour (OMB) is the intentional action that violates the shared organisational norms and expectation or unconventional practices which are not supposed to do at work (Vardi Wiener, 1996). Vardi and Wiener (1996) distinguished OMB into three types to influence in personal, organisation and others or organisations. OMB type S is intention to benefit self-interest which often occurred in internal organisation. For example, distorting data may obtain the high evaluation in order to increase the chance of promotion; stealing and selling the property from organisation take money into personal account; and harassing peers by handling the personal work task or gossip others is detrimental to other accounts of reputation. Type O OMB intends to benefit the employing organisation that usually occurred in external organisation. For instance, cheating other firms members is to obtain the contracts for the employing organisation. Type D OMB intends to hurt others or to damage the organisation that associated with both internal and external organisation. An example of type D is revenge in order to deriving the own satisfaction and responding to actual or perceived mistreatment. In addition to three types of OMB, workplace deviance and dysfunctional behaviour are important to analysis in the case. Workplace deviance refers as voluntary behaviour of organisation members that infringe upon the organisational norms due to threaten to the organisation or organisational members (Robbinson Bennett 1995). The latter considered as the behaviour instead of motivation, the action will carry the negative effect and consequence for an individual or group within organisation (Griffin, O Leary-Kelly Collins, 1998). Hence, dehumanised management in Foxconn belongs to type O that excessive work hours and low overtime paid would benefit to the organisational interest that encourage the profit maximisation. This action would deteriorate the relationship between employers and employees, and damage the employees socialisation and physical quality. Then, the supervisors forced to sign confession letter due to unintentional faults that attributes to workplace deviance because it should directly be detrimental to employees physical and mental aspects. Although the company attempted to allow the activities such as hotline and anti-suicide assembly, for motivating the employees, those activities would be compulsory to join and not be counted in their work hours. As a result, the behaviours would reverse the function of motivation that considered as dysfunctional behaviour. However, Shamsudin (2006) showed the ways to resist OMB that are personal counselling and surveys with questionnaires. Personal counselling is a primary solution that understands the reasons of OMB and the different standards of behaviours because employees may possess the different values, perception and norms. But personal counselling might not work when the OMB is in group, violent or criminal in nature, surveys can collect and analysis the whole employees perception and norms in order to avoid the conflicts in the relationship of employers and employees. Job quality Job quality can come from many dimensions that enhance job security and satisfaction. Consequently, understanding of job quality is significant to maintain employees in the organisation, and the likelihood of BPC can be decreased within the interaction of employees and employers. Job diagnostic survey is a job measurement that understands the degree of job quality (Hackman, 1975). The motivating potential score that add up skill variety, task identity and task significant to divided by three and then combine with autonomy and feedback. In addition, other studies expressed the job quality in America and Europe, so that can help to improve the situation of Foxconn. Handel (2005) explained that Fordism is a period which is the context of stable industrial system including American economic dominance, rising productivity and earning, steady or decreasing inequality, and robust employment growth. Neo-Fordist theory claims that job quality for most workers is in term of material reward and work pace which is the base principle of high pay, job security and career mobility due to inequality between management and labour in post-war market. Increasing job quality through Post-Fordist theory means the respect to both material (e.g. pay) and intrinsic (e.g. job challenge, autonomy and workplace cooperation) rewards and working condition (e.g. decreased physical workloads). Referring to Handels theory, post-Fordism period is similar as booming economy in China where real GDP grew at an average rate of 9.3% by foreign investments and become the worlds largest economy (Morrison, 2005). The Foxconn should increase the wage by the material reward, offer sufficient time and independence by intrinsic reward, and decrease the quantity of workload to diminish the possibility of job burnout. In European work market, the work-life balance and working time and training and career development are principles of job quality (ETUL, 2009). The management of Foxconn could provide the flex ible working arrangement by employees choosing working pattern themselves for balance the job stress and well-being in order to enhance the socialisation (Kelliher Aderson, 2009). Also, training and career development can expand the confidence in job task and identity. Conclusion In conclusion, Foxconn has made a military management to its employees as dehumanised treatment that drove the suicide tragedy. Job stress may contribute to job burnout that composed of excessive work quantity and low wage in Foxconn. Emotional labour could help to improve the turnover intention and emotional exhaustion by deep acting. PC is s mutual expectation involving employers and employees and BPC would fulfil PC which can use exit, voice, loyalty and neglect method to eliminate BPC depending on age or work experience. OMB type O should attribute to overtime and low wage deteriorate the relationship between employers and employees. In addition, the workplace deviance and dysfunctional behaviour could be detrimental to the relationship as well. Job quality is also significant to raise job security and satisfaction because job redesign is to change the role and return of career when the economy changed.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Computer Linguistics and Philosophical Interpretation :: Technology Philosophy Essays
Computer Linguistics and Philosophical Interpretation ABSTRACT: This paper reports a procedure which I employed with two computational research instruments, the Index Thomisticus and its companion St. Thomas CD-ROM, in order to research the Thomistic axiom, ââ¬Ëwhatever is received is received according to the mode of the receiver.ââ¬â¢ My procedure extends to the lexicological methods developed by the pioneering creator of the Index, Roberto Busa, from single terms to a proposition. More importantly, the paper shows how the emerging results of the lexicological searches guided my formation of a philosophical thesis about the axiomââ¬â¢s import for Aquinasââ¬â¢s existential metaphysics. One day in 1949, when the computer was still in its infancy, a young Jesuit knocked at the door of an executive of I.B.M., and explained that he wanted to put the corpus of Thomas Aquinasââ¬â¢s writings on computer. He wanted, moreover, to number each word, as well as to identify and tag each as the form of its proper lemma. He wanted, in short, a complete graphico-syntatical systemization of all the words Aquinas ever wrote. As data was still being entered into computers by means of the long since forgotten punch-card, this I.B.M. executive was respectfully but decidedly sceptical about the tenability, if not the use, of such a project. Roberto Busa respectfully but decidedly reassured him that if I.B.M. would but supply the technology, Busa himself would see to the rest. And so he did. Over two decades and millions of punch-cards later, there began to emerge into the light of day the Index Thomisticus, the second largest publication of this century. The next step was to figure o ut what to do with it. Busaââ¬â¢s pioneering Index has kept pace with the computerââ¬â¢s hypertrophic evolution even to the present day, its latest reincarnation being in the form of the St. Thomas CD-ROM. (1) In this talk, I want to describe how I went about utilizing the Index Thomisticus and its companion St. Thomas CD-ROM to conduct a systematic and comprehensive search of Thomasââ¬â¢s writings for a certain Scholastic axiom. I hope in this way to offer a model for a philosophical use of computational linguistics, and to show how the emerging results of my lexicological research guided my formation of a philosophical thesis about the axiom's import. Following Busa, I call the procedures I used ââ¬Ëlexicologicalââ¬â¢ in that they delineate and clarify one part of the active lexicon of Aquinas through use of the Index Thomisticus as the complete graphico-syntactic systematization of all the words in his writings. Computer Linguistics and Philosophical Interpretation :: Technology Philosophy Essays Computer Linguistics and Philosophical Interpretation ABSTRACT: This paper reports a procedure which I employed with two computational research instruments, the Index Thomisticus and its companion St. Thomas CD-ROM, in order to research the Thomistic axiom, ââ¬Ëwhatever is received is received according to the mode of the receiver.ââ¬â¢ My procedure extends to the lexicological methods developed by the pioneering creator of the Index, Roberto Busa, from single terms to a proposition. More importantly, the paper shows how the emerging results of the lexicological searches guided my formation of a philosophical thesis about the axiomââ¬â¢s import for Aquinasââ¬â¢s existential metaphysics. One day in 1949, when the computer was still in its infancy, a young Jesuit knocked at the door of an executive of I.B.M., and explained that he wanted to put the corpus of Thomas Aquinasââ¬â¢s writings on computer. He wanted, moreover, to number each word, as well as to identify and tag each as the form of its proper lemma. He wanted, in short, a complete graphico-syntatical systemization of all the words Aquinas ever wrote. As data was still being entered into computers by means of the long since forgotten punch-card, this I.B.M. executive was respectfully but decidedly sceptical about the tenability, if not the use, of such a project. Roberto Busa respectfully but decidedly reassured him that if I.B.M. would but supply the technology, Busa himself would see to the rest. And so he did. Over two decades and millions of punch-cards later, there began to emerge into the light of day the Index Thomisticus, the second largest publication of this century. The next step was to figure o ut what to do with it. Busaââ¬â¢s pioneering Index has kept pace with the computerââ¬â¢s hypertrophic evolution even to the present day, its latest reincarnation being in the form of the St. Thomas CD-ROM. (1) In this talk, I want to describe how I went about utilizing the Index Thomisticus and its companion St. Thomas CD-ROM to conduct a systematic and comprehensive search of Thomasââ¬â¢s writings for a certain Scholastic axiom. I hope in this way to offer a model for a philosophical use of computational linguistics, and to show how the emerging results of my lexicological research guided my formation of a philosophical thesis about the axiom's import. Following Busa, I call the procedures I used ââ¬Ëlexicologicalââ¬â¢ in that they delineate and clarify one part of the active lexicon of Aquinas through use of the Index Thomisticus as the complete graphico-syntactic systematization of all the words in his writings.
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